Teaching – Peter Lorentzen

University of San Francisco

Intermediate Macroeconomics (Econ 312): Undergraduate lecture course on the fundamental models of macroeconomics and the methods of formal macroeconomic analysis. The first part of the course reviews the basics—macroeconomic variables such as income, inflation, exports, and unemployment, and the classical theories about them. The second part of the course looks at explanations of long-run economic growth. For the last part of the course, we turn to short-run macroeconomics, introducing and developing basic models of business cycle fluctuations and policy applications.
Game Theory (Econ 318): Undergraduate lecture course. Nash equilibrium. Backward induction. Games of incomplete information. Mixed strategies. Continuous strategies. Repeated games. Advanced topics sometimes including voting, collective action, auctions, mechanism design.
International Finance (Econ 471): Undergraduate lecture course on international finance and open economy macroeconomics, focusing on the monetary flows that parallel the real flows of goods and services that make up international trade. Exchange rates, foreign exchange markets, the balance of payments, prices and output in the world economy. Discusses major issues in currency and international monetary policies as well as some of the costs and benefits of financial globalization.
Applied Microeconomics Theory( Econ 501): Master’s-level lecture course providing an accelerated introduction to the core concepts of applied microeconomic theory including optimization by consumers and producers, competitive equilibrium, game theory, asymmetric information, welfare analysis.
Institutions, Markets, and Platforms (Econ 640): Master’s-level seminar course on institutional economics and market design, with an emphasis on the development of new technology-mediated market platforms.
International Trade( Econ 670): Master’s-level course introducing the theory of international trade and the economic analysis of international trade policies.
International Finance (Econ 671): Master’s-level course on international finance and open economy macroeconomics, focusing on the monetary flows that parallel the real flows of goods and services that make up international trade. Exchange rates, foreign exchange markets, the balance of payments, prices and output in the world economy. Discusses major issues in currency and international monetary policies as well as some of the costs and benefits of financial globalization.

UC BerkEley

Authoritarianism: Ph.D. seminar examining politics in non-democratic regimes. How do non-democratic leaders gain power, hold power, or lose power? How do they make and implement domestic and foreign policy? How does non-democratic rule affect the lives of citizens of these regimes? Topics covered include economic development, quasi-democratic institutions, media and propaganda, governance, elite politics, coups, democratic and other transitions, and foreign policy.
Chinese Politics: Upper-division undergraduate lecture course introducing key features of the Chinese political system.
Essential Methodological Tools: Ph.D.-level lecture course presenting essential concepts, ideas and tools students need to know before beginning their study of the formal and quantitative methods tools used in political science research. Topics covered include functions, limits, continuity, calculus, optimization, probability and statistics and linear algebra.
Formal Models in Political Science: Ph.D.-level lecture course providing an introduction to the methodology of game theory and related formal modeling techniques, with a focus on applications in the study of politics. Basic knowledge of multivariate calculus, probability theory, and optimization is assumed.
Junior Seminar: The Political Economy of China: Undergraduate honors seminar exploring the interrelationships between politics and the economy in contemporary China.
Junior Seminar: The Rise of China: Undergraduate honors seminar exploring the causes and consequences of China’s return to global prominence.
The Political Economy of China: Upper-division undergraduate lecture course examining China’s interrelated political and economic systems from the perspectives both of scholars and practitioners/participants.
The Political Economy of China: Ph.D. seminar examining the interrelationships between politics and the economy in contemporary China. How has China achieved rapid economic growth when basic market institutions are missing or deeply corrupted? How have China’s leaders managed to keep economic development from leading to democratization? Does China’s experience hold lessons for other developing countries?
Research Workshop in Formal and Quantitative Political Economy: Ph.D. workshop course providing an organized forum for presentation and discussion of research in political economy by both graduate students and outside speakers.

Stanford University

The Chinese Economy: International Policy Studies MA course, cross-listed in Economics. China’s transition from a planned economy to a largely market-oriented system, with special focus on the lessons for other developing and transitional economies.
International Development: Graduate School of Business MBA course. Case-study-based course on the challenges faced by less-developed countries, with a focus on the actions that can be taken by entrepreneurs, multinational corporations, and non-profits to help or hinder these countries. Co-taught with Larry Chavis.

PhD mentees (advisees, TAs, RAs, co-authors)

Other Publicly Available Teaching Materials

Political Science journal articles on China. Bibliography of articles on China published in recent years in selected general interest and comparative political science journals. Updated through June 2016.
Eachnet.com. Stanford University Graduate School of Business Case No. SM91. With William Barnett. In 1999, Bo Shao, a Chinese national with a U.S. BA and MBA, returned to China to set up an online auction firm. While initial venture capital funding came easily, China’s low level of development created many other challenges that would not have arisen in a more-developed economy. Delivery and payment systems were unreliable. Legal systems for contract enforcement were weak, making buyers and sellers reluctant to trust one another online. Few potential employees were familiar with western management practices. At the same time, other startups in the same market created an intensely competitive environment.
UFSoft. Stanford University Graduate School of Business Case No. SM92. With William Barnett. UFSoft was one of the first completely non-governmental domestic firms to succeed in China. Established in 1988 in Beijing, the firm began by making Chinese-language bookkeeping software and gradually moved toward much more complex enterprise resource management software. Set in 2001, just after UFSoft’ssuccessful initial public offering, the case traces UFSoft’s growth and expansion in the face of competition first from Chinese firms and later from international firms such as Oracle and SAP. In addition to external strategic challenges, the firm faced many internal management challenges. Quality control became difficult to maintain as the products became more complex and development teams became larger. Distribution channels established for off-the-shelf bookkeeping software had to be adapted for higher-end products and services. This case explores both the general challenges faced by a growing firm and the unique difficulties of building a high-technology business in a poorer, less developed economy.
The Environment for Entrepreneurship in China. Stanford University Graduate School of Business Case No. E198. With William Barnett. This teaching note describes the economic, financial and political environment faced by entrepreneurial firms in China in the year 2002. The note discusses the economic reform process, the relationship between business and government , and challenges faced by the Chinese economy. The note also explains some distinctive features of Chinese corporate law and describes unique organizational forms used by Chinese firms. Finally, entrepreneurial financing and exit options are addressed in a survey of the venture capital industry and equity markets in mainland China and Hong Kong.